Weekend Update

Oh my goodness, I think I've been to the Promised Land!  Erin's mother in law Sue was more than a quilter, though she was definitely that.  She was a shopper with lofty ambitions and excellent taste, and I am honored to be the new caretaker of a very small selection of her treasures.  This looks like less than it is - those are bolts on the right, and that zip bag is full of 5" charms of beautiful Moda charms.  The small (not really) box is jammed full of light 1/4 and 1/2 yard cuts.

Under the batting are 2 pieces of upholstery weight fabric and a completely pieced, layered and basted baby quilt.    This is the top of my full sized freezer, and it is covered.

I am very very lucky, and inspired to turn this bounty into something good.  I will.

The home itself is beautiful - a beautiful house with 2 wonderful decks, a mezzanine,  and a magnificent stone fireplace, a separate cottage that was Sue's studio, a shed that was the cats' home, a greenhouse, and an actual studio that is now a shed.  It's the kind of place you can't imagine ever leaving.  I'd love to go back just to drink coffee on the deck.

Today though, is Father's Day, and I need to do some errands and pick up ribs for dinner.  Onward.

This Week:

Monday - ANWSD Food Service Picnic
Wednesday - Dinner for Farrells
Thursday - ANWSD payday

What's for Dinner?

17 Ribs
18 Grilled Cheese
19 Chicken strips (or fish) & fries
20 Baked Mac & Cheese
21 Deli Sandwiches
22 Pizza
23 Hot Dogs & Potato Salad
24 BBQ Chciken
25 Grilled Cheese
26 Fajitas
27 Spaghetti

28 Burgers
29 Pizza
30 Cold Meat & Salad
July 1 Canada Day!

A Field Trip!

Wooo, busy day today.  I'm running out the door shortly to go on a field trip!  😁  Friend Erin and I are going to Granville (hour-ish from here) to her late mother-in-law's stash, er I mean house to help clear out some of the fabric and sewing supplies.  I have no idea what to expect, but an hour drive into the mountains sounds like a treat, and free fabric is a bonus!  I said I'd meet her at her house at 8, but I'm going to stop and get coffees and cardamon buns at The Laundry first.  I don't think she'll mind.  Details upon my return.

This afternoon groceries and a few errands.  The forecast is for hot and humid, so I think a trip in the A/C sounds dreamy.

Weekend Update

Ooooh, it's cold.  But I'll take -22º over 80º any day.  You can always put on more clothes, right?

Nothing new on that Next 4 list.   Plodding along.  I have started, repeatedly, a new hat with some found yarn.  Repeatedly, because it's knitted top down, and it's been too big the last 4 times I've started.  I think I've got it now, though, but who knows?  It's meditative, all that tearing out and redoing.  Call me Sisyphus.

What's for Dinner?

7 Roast chicken
8 Omelets
9 fajitas
10 lasagna
11 Ham & scalloped potatoes
12 pizza
13 Beef Stew & Cheese Bread
14 Pork Roast
15 Soup & Grilled Cheese
16 Fried Rice, egg rolls
17 Baked Ziti
18 Nachos
19 Pizza
20 Mac & Cheese
21 Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing
22 Quesadillas
23 Baked Potato Bar
24 Spaghetti w/meatballs
25 shepherd's pie
26 pizza
27 Chicken Sandwiches
28 Pot Roast
29 Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
30 grilled ham steaks
31 Lasagna
Feb 1 pancakes
2 GROUNDHOG meatloaf!
3
4

Look at all those needles!

Look at 'em all!   A year or so ago, a friend gave me a large bag + of beautiful yarn from her late mother-in-law's house.  All she wanted in return was a hat.  Eventually.  This yarn wasn't actually from that bag, it's leftover from a sweater I made Tori.  But purple is, according to her daughter, her favorite color, so purple it is.  The pattern is Antler Toque from Ravelry, not hard, and it's fun getting back into knitting.

Plus, with as little free time as I have right now, I don't knit for long enough to make my hands hurt. 😊

It's done!

Last Week

Needlework

Sew 30 minutes every day
finish Tori's prom dress
continue Danielle's quilt

Other

Sunday - Mother's Day
Tuesday - Simon Orthodontist
Tuesday - PTO
Wednesday - Daniel baseball game
Tuesday - Daniel ASEP
Thursday - Daniel Field Trip - Shelburne Farms
Thursday Daniel - Game Club
Friday - Daniel Baseball Game
Saturday - Tori prom

plant flower box for end of driveway
gather materials for garden frames
plant daylilies from Beth (if I get them and the soggy ground allows)

I had to go back and edit the end of the driveway planter - I hadn't done it, but decided it would be the perfect spot for some volunteer pansies, nasturtiums and ?? (zinnias, maybe.) Free, and better than that, done.

Tori's prom was last night, and her dress, yeah! was finished. Sewing it, I remember why I gave up garment sewing when she hit about 2nd grade. Satin taffeta wasn't a great welcome back, but it's done. She liked it, she said she got lots of compliments, and it's DONE!

Did I get anything else done this week? It would appear not. But that's okay. I worked a couple of days, and the money will be nice - this is a spendy month. I'm working 2 more days this week, same pay period. Yahoo!

Saturday we are (probably) having a yard sale. There are a number of families along this stretch of Main Steet having sales that day - it would be prudent to get in on the momentum. But with a busy day Thursday, and working Friday, well maybe it won't happen, and that's okay. It's a long summer.

Next Week

Dinner Menu - May 16 - 29

Sunday - Ribs
Monday - Quiche, salad
Tuesday -ravioli
Wednesday - pancakes
Thursday - mac & cheese
Friday - stromboli
Saturday - BBQ pork sandwiches
Sunday - meatloaf
Monday - make-your-own salads
Tuesday - fried rice
Wednesday - Lasagna
Thursday - pork chops
Friday - pizza
Saturday - burgers

Needlework

Sew 30 minutes every day
continue Danielle's quilt

Other

Monday - Daniel baseball
Tuesday - Sub Foley
Thursday - Tori Wisdom teeth
Thursday - Simon permit retest
Thursday Daniel - Game Club
Friday - Daniel Field Trip ECHO
Saturday - Daniel Baseball Game
Saturday - yard sale

price and organize stuff for yard sale
gather materials for garden frames

Yeah, so much for that nothing week I had planned...

Worked yesterday, spent longer than usual at school today. I'm scheduled to work again Thursday, too.

I've been plodding along on Tori's dress, which I must say is turning out nice. It's double the work, though, since it is fully lined! Two complete dresses, sewn more-or-less separately, then sewn one inside the other. All slidely fabric, all ravelly, all purple. Yikes. It'll get done though, I'm on to the skirt(s).

I learned something today that has made me very happy. It's probably old news to everyone else on the planet, or at least every stitcher within a day's drive. Ami Simms Alzheimer's Art Quilt exhibit will be at the Shelburne Museum this summer! I'm so excited! I'm SO going! Before school gets out! By MYSELF! Yeah!

Back to the sewing machine - the purple monster awaits... (and I have a meeting tonight, so no sewing after supper)

What a Week!

Last Week

Needlework

Sew 30 minutes every day
continue Danielle's quilt

Other

Monday - Truck in for muffler repair
Monday, Wednesday - Daniel Little League practice
Tuesday - Simon's Birthday!!!
Tuesday - ASEP
Wednesday Sub Foley pm
Wednesday - ASEP
Thursday Daniel - Game Club
Thursday - BRAT class
Thursday - Daniel team pictures
gather materials for garden frames
plant daylilies from Beth (if I get them and the soggy ground allows)
STAFF APPRECIATION NEXT WEEK!

One hell week down, one to go. Wednesday seems to be the bad day both weeks, so once Thursday hits this week, it's smooth sailing. Perfect day for an hour or so in the chair at the hair salon. :o)

So, this was Tuesday. Monday afternoon I spent an hour or so playing in the dirt in my garden, in a t shirt and bare feet. Tuesday we woke up to rain which turned to wet snow, which turned to this. Yes, that's sunscreen under that chaise. Yesterday it was 81º and I had the A/C on in the car.







No sewing this week (no surprise there) although I did sit myself down and take the time to draw out a pattern that I can use to paper piece the pineapple blocks for Danielle's quilt, once I get some time to actually sew. This week? Doubtful.

Tori ordered prom dress online. Sigh... there's no disappointment like waiting for the perfect dress to arrive only to find that the side zipper only goes up halfway. I found almost the same dress in a McCall's pattern and have offered (I know, I know) to try and make it. We have the pattern (5850) and the fabric (eggplant satin taffeta.) I'm gonna test drive the bodice in muslin, though. I might be crazy, but I'm not nuts!

Next Week

Dinner Menu - May 2 - 15

Sunday - grilled pork loin roast, risotto, salad
Monday - Quiche, salad
Tuesday - Deli sandwiches
Wednesday - Cheesy mac & Beef
Thursday - pancakes and bacon
Friday - stromboli
Saturday - hot dogs, hamburgers
Sunday - *don't know, don't care, I'm not making it.*
Monday - Grilled cheese, tomato soup
Tuesday - pork chops, fried potatoes
Wednesday - lasagna
Thursday - hamburgers
Friday - ? No school, maybe Simon will cook
Saturday - pizza

Needlework

Sew 30 minutes every day
test fit bodice for Tori's prom dress
continue Danielle's quilt

Other

Sunday - Staff Appreciation set up at school
Monday - Friday VUES Staff Appreciation
Monday - dentist
Monday, Wednesday - Daniel Little League practice!!!
Tuesday - ASEP
Wednesday - SA Luncheon
Wednesday - ASEP
Thursday - hair appointment
Thursday - Simon permit test
Thursday Daniel - Game Club
Thursday - order Mother's Day flowers for Oma and Grandma
Friday - Cubs


gather materials for garden frames
plant daylilies from Beth (if I get them and the soggy ground allows)
STAFF APPRECIATION NEXT WEEK!

About the crazy...

I know where my brain was headed! I'm sure of it!

The next thing on my to-do list for the Christmas craft fair is crayon rolls. I'll make them for the few remaining not yet 16 year old nieces and nephews, too, though perhaps with gel pens or Sharpies for the older ones. There's a pattern here, the one I'm using from an old magazine is just slightly different. My original thought was to use some heavier weight cottons for the body of the roll - upholstery weight, maybe even corduroy, but how much more unique (and frugal!) would it be to piece and quilt "yardage" to cut that body from? I'll perhaps do some with unpieced bodies, but I today I'll start piecing a "top" to layer and quilt and then I'll cut the body of the rolls from that.

I've got a few things to get through today first, but once they're out of the way, woohoo! And tomorrow, I can sew all day! I'm stuck here waiting for someone to come fix the tractor. It won't start. :o(

Christmas on Thursday

Thursday! This week has flown!

Grandma's Scrap Bin #1 and #2 are done. Layered, quilted, bound, labeled.

The label looks better "real" than this picture would suggest - it's hand written, but the lines are in fact straight. I promise. I think I'm going to go see Marilyn after classes on Monday. I've spilled the beans to a couple of teachers and everyone seems to want to get in on the present-ation. I don't want this to be an "everyone" event. I want this to be just from me. So I'm not going to let anyone at school know ahead of time. I'm a little afraid that she'll get emotional, and I don't want to embarrass her - she's just the dearest woman and very private. I'll give them to her at the end of the day and let her decide for herself whether or not to share them with her collegues.

Tori's Bento Box quilt is also done. I really like this quilting panto - Little Kisses. It's sweet and swirly and softens the lines and angles of the bento pattern.

I have one purse in process, but no pictures since right now it looks like nothing but a pile of red and green and white and mess. Easy going, though, so it shouldn't be long to whip through the dozen I plan to make.

famous last words...

*update*
Okay, so not *quite* as easy peasy as I thought (who knew Santa hats were so shoddily made? In any case, I think I've worked out the details, I need a different red for the handles (heh, seriously not a problem) or else I need to add wire handles, but the details are worked out. Cute, huh? The "pattern" is here, if you want to make your own. One suggestion, go for plush, rather than fur trim on the hats.

This week, next week

This Week

Needlework
send bento quilt to Margaret
backstitching on Hummel
Red scarf

Other
continue garden chores
finish cleaning perennial bed
begin weeding hosta garden

Whew I'm tired! It's been a week of early mornings and late nights, capped off this morning with a 9 am trip to the vet. Sigh... fat orange cat has a tube in his penis again, and gets to sleep over for a few days.

Not so productive as last week, either, but everything got done that needed to. Plus the deck is finished except for the pretty details (and the real stairs.) I didn't do the majority of work, Scott did, but I was available to help when he needed it.

The Creepy Dudes will be finished this week, perhaps tonight. I'm going to walk over to the store in a second to get this week's paper (and, more importantly, this week's coupons.) Maybe there's a Michael's flyer with a coupon for framing. That'd be handy, since I need to go in to town one day this week, and a stop at Michael's wouldn't be out of the way.

The weather's getting more autumn-y, and the crock pot has replaced the blender on the counter. Summer is just too darn hot to leave a pot of soup cooking all day, but weather like this makes me want to get back into that routine. I'll bake some bread to go with it. Ahhh, comfort food - perfect remedy to the hectic past week. The other benefit is supper cooks itself, essentially, leaving me free to spend the whole day tomorrow(?) doing what I please, perhaps working on Marilyn's quilts. We'll see.

This Week

Dinner Menu
Monday - potato bacon soup
Tuesday - pancakes and sausages
Wednesday - chinese take out
Thursday - Summer Reading Wrap-up pizza party
Friday - mac & cheese
Saturday - tacos
Sunday - pizza

Needlework
finish Hummel
Red scarf
Marilyn's grandchildren's quilts

Other
reschedule Tori's ortho appointment
fundraiser packet stuffing 6pm
Thursday night - Open House and pizza party 5:30
continue weeding hosta garden
Landscape fabric and gravel over the "small deck" side of the big deck
begin putting veggie garden to bed

what a great week!

Last Week

Needlework
Assemble remaining 24 blocks into 6 chunks
Oma's Hummel for Christmas
Red scarf

Other
Monday - Fundraising bulletin board at elem, school
Wednesday - 1st day of school
Wednesday - hair appointment
clear old rose bed, plant Stella D'Oros
continue garden chores

What a satisfying week I've had! Look at that - all my lists, all crossed off!

As I hinted on Thursday, the bento top is finished. I've ordered a wide back from fabric.com and expect it to arrive this week. If I'd taken the mid-arm class already (note to self: call about mid-arm class) I'd maybe feel confident quilting this myself, but I haven't, and I don't. So I won't. It'll go off, perhaps this week as well.

The cross stitching on the Hummel picture is done, with just one little oops, I'll never say where. It's a single stitch, no one but me will ever know. I'll begin the back-stitch outlining this week and share progress on Thursday. The single colour of floss I was missing was in stock AND on sale at Ben Franklin. And while I was there I checked through their fabrics. This store orders flat folds by colour from a clearinghouse - they can't specify pattern or often manufacturer since what's available is mostly last year (or the year before the year before that.) It's from this selection I found my favourite WoW print a couple of years ago. I wanted more earlier this year when I was working on... *something* but it was gone. Sigh... Guess what I found? 5 3/4 yards of it! @ @$2.99 a yard. I bought it all. No point sentencing anyone else to the heartache of never finding more, right? All told, including the Lindt truffle I snagged at the checkout, the damage was less than $20. Resist? Why would I?

Since Cute Boyfriend is no longer a kinder-gartener, he is allowed to get off the school bus without a big person there to meet him. I've taken the opportunity to not meet his bus by working on the rose bed and the front perennial garden. Down the lane from the bus stop, I'm not there, but I'm still there. Next week when the front bed's finished, I'll move a little further out of direct sight, then by the time it's cold and snowy, I won't have to leave the house at all! ;o) So, for Greg, a picture of the cleared, replanted and mulched former rose-, now daylily bed.

That tree trunk in the back is an elm that can't decide whether it's dying or not. I'm thinking I might make the decision for it. There's a smaller one behind it that's in the same shape - they weren't even leafy enough for their annual infestation of tent caterpillars.


This Week

Dinner Menu
Monday - hot dogs, potato salad
Tuesday - mac and cheese
Wednesday - fried rice
Thursday - pot roast
Friday - strombolli
Saturday - burgers
Sunday - bbq pork loin

Needlework
send bento quilt to Margaret
backstitching on Hummel
Red scarf

Other
continue garden chores
finish cleaning perennial bed
begin weeding hosta garden

The Day Before Christmas

Thursday again. The Creepy Dudes, as Tori has taken to calling these Hummel boys, are almost completely stitched. I'm missing one colour of floss, DMC 437, but have a trip to Midd planned this morning, so I'll check at Ben Franklin. Barring that, I'll use something else. Who'll know? The backstitching will take a while, and I'm pretty certain I won't be able to work on that in the evenings - it's a lot of dark-on-dark and geeze, I can't see up close to read in the DAYtime anymore without my readers.

Since I didn't include a picture of the scarf last week, here it is. It really hasn't progressed much at all since the band concerts ended a few weeks ago - that was my knitting time. But if I can't see to stitch at night, I guess I can knit... This pattern can practically be done with my eyes closed.

And finally, and only for a little while, here's Tori's quilt. I'll assemble the top today, this is just the chunks laid out on the floor. I had started sewing the remaining 12" blocks together and oh geeze! I was short 6. Six! SIX!? How the heck did lose my ability to reliably count to 12? I could not get my head around how that could have happened. I tried pencil and paper. No good. I tried a calculator... maaaaaybeee there was a light at the end of this tunnel. Only way to know was to push back the couch, throw everything on the floor, and lay it out. So I did. And I had exactly enough. Whew!

I'll swap out this picture for something different later today. Tori's at school until 3 then babysitting until 4:30. Plenty of time to hid the evidence, both virtual and tangible. Done, oh, and DONE!

The Day Before Christmas

These ugly little Hummel kids are coming along quickly! I'm surprised, but not really. I've stitched two pictures before, and the detail on this seems considerably less. The Ring-a-Rosie I did a few years ago drove me to fits - the skirts and aprons rarely had two same-coloured stitches next door. At least that's the way I remember it. Looking at the pictures now, I think I might have embellished my recollection a little.

But in any case, these boys are coming along quite nicely.

I am nowhere near a point where I should be adding the backstitches, but the giant peach-flesh blob was distressing, so I went ahead and defined their faces. Much better. Maybe by next week they'll all have shoes. And hair.

I've shared them before, but here are the two previous Hummels, for detail comparison. Perhaps I'm wrong. See what I mean about the muddy colours though?












I've even, gasp, begun thinking about the next few things that should be done for Christmas. There are four nieces and two nephews (plus my own) in the Under 16 catergory. Tori's 16, she'll get a big quilt this year (and since school starts next week I can maybe sneak some pictures up here), but the younger ones need something... something...

Christmas on Thursday

Now 'til I'm done (which will be, delusion-free, Christmas Eve) I'm going to share my Christmas gift making progress on Thursdays. Whee!! Along with Wordless Wednesdays and Flashback Fridays, another post-day that demands zero thought, except that required to remember to share.

So let's start with Oma, my mother. Lover of handmade, but only the kind of handmade that she makes with her own hands. Oma has demonstrated repeatedly that she does not appreciate the time or skill involved in a quilt. It's not that she doesn't understand the work involved, but she's not a quilter, and by her own admission, she doesn't "get it." She likes quilts, she just really doesn't want one any more. I've learned that lesson, and don't take it personally.

What she does appreciate is knitting and embroidery. Mom makes knitted teddy bears for the Alzheimer Society, for her church's youth mission, for people who need them. She's made bears for each of my children, and they love them. Personally? meh. But I knit, and I see the work and appreciate the skill. But 3 is plenty in this house, thanks.

Oma is a prolific embroiderer, as well. She does less counted cross stitch than she used to, and my crossed eyes and cramped 30 year younger fingers know exactly why. She's branched out into beautiful hand made cards. Gorgeous, and she's smart enough to only send them to people who will appreciate the work. Like me. :o)

As I've shared before, I have stitched several Hummel pictures for mom in the past. Those she likes, showing them off to visitors, and sigh, pointing out errors to only her closest friends who completely understand and nod comfortingly. It's a joy to have a daughter who loves you enough to give you such a wonderfully personal and only slightly imperfect gift.
I'm not sure how many Hummels is enough Hummels. I'm hoping it's more than two, but seriously? less than... twenty. This, in progress, is number three.

Red Scarf

No pictures of the Hummel kids today - they're still nothing but gray. I should have remembered this from the previous ones of done - muddy, muddy colours. Instead, for your viewing pleasure, my newest distraction.

I should have started this with the first band concert back in July, but I'm not sure where my head was. Next week's the last Monday evening show, and I have 6 inches of scarf to show for it. Both the inspiration and the pattern are from Now Norma Knits. Scroll back to the beginning of July where Norma introduced me to the Red Scarf Project. What a good plan, and sure, I can do that. To make it even easier, she provides days and days worth of links to scarf patterns. Throw the ball of reclaimed red wool I came across into the mix,and how could I resist? The pattern I'm using is The Corrugator by Paula in Nova Scotia, it's super easy, totally mindless knitting. And doesn't it look great? Small, but great, yes?

Weekend Update

This Week

Needlework
Keep working on Tori's Bento quilt when she's not around

Other
Tuesday - Dentist (all 3 kids) 2:00
Wednesday - Orthodontist 2:50
clear old rose bed, plant Stella D'Oros
continue weeding, picking beans, cucumbers, tomatoes
deck

Oooh, it was a hot one this week, and promises the same for the week ahead. Hot here is 90+ but with humidity in the 60-70% range, it's just miserable as far as I'm concerned. I didn't get any gardening done this week, beyond picking some veggies and pulling a couple weeds. I just can't stand being out in the heat.

The garden is doing okay, better than many of my neighbours'. There's a serious plague of Late Blight here in the northeast that may or may not be traced to a grower in the south who supplied many of the big box type garden centers up here. My plants came from Survivor Greenhouse, and seem to be resisting so far. The yield is way down, but that could be due to the over abundant rain and this guy as much as anything. Daniel calls him Bunbun. I call him Trouble.

I did manage to get the 48 blocks for Tori's quilt assembled. Next chunks will be 2 by 2, there will only be 12 of those. That's the goal for this week. I'm wondering about an August finish... I am still waiting for a call from Thread Connections about her mid-arm training. I've got the ebay top out and waiting as a practice piece, but we're already beyond halfway in August and nothing. Time to go for a dig, I think, and see what else I can finish by the end of the month.

I started the Hummel cross stitch for my mom for Christmas. Tori and her friend Hannah would like to check out some Canadian colleges and I suggested Thanksgiving week might work for a road trip. If that pans out, I'd like to have the piece done in time to take it with me. I'll share a pic later this week - doesn't look like much right now, it's variations on gray at this point. I'll get some colour in there, then snap a progress shot.

The big kids are both cooking again this week. Last week I convinced Simon that a 90º kitchen was no place to be baking and deep frying, so his Sweet and Sour chicken became teriyaki chicken cooked outside on the grill. Great stuff, but next time, honey, you gotta remember to shut the gas off when you take the meat off. I think the tank was close to empty, so no real harm done, but we did legitimately contribute to global warming this week. Sorry Al.

Scott's been plugging away on the deck in the afternoons when the sun's gone around to the other side of the house. All the top boards are on, and he built me some temporary steps so I don't break my left leg trying to get up. (In the past week I've torn up my left calf on a rough piece of pressure treated lumber, been stung on the left shoulder, fell off a ladder and bruised my left hip and knee, and pulled a muscle on the left side of my neck. Oh, and developed a cold sore on the left side of my lip.) We laid out there Wednesday and Thursday nights watching the meteor showers. Great stuff. The board you can see here on the edge is part of the edge trim - it will run around the outside of the whole thing like a frame on a picture. Can't wait!

This Week

Dinner Menu
Monday - hot dogs at the park
Tuesday - deli sandwiches
Wednesday - ? Tori
Thursday - ? Simon
Friday - pizza
Saturday - mac & cheese
Sunday - pork chops

Needlework
Assemble 48 blocks into 12 chunks
Oma's Hummel for Christmas

Other
Wednesday - Middle School math meeting 6:30
clear old rose bed, plant Stella D'Oros
continue garden chores

1630

That's how many hours, more or less, of daylight between now and Christmas. This is what my mother is getting this year. I have not started, and realistically, I cannot work on this in the evenings without serious benefit of my headlamp and reading glasses.



Joann has DNC floss on sale right now, buy 3 get one free. They had all but two of the colours I need, and I might well have those downstairs in the dump.


The detail, oh the detail! My eyes are already crossing at the thought. But this is the kind of gift my mother treasures, and since I can, I will. First job, though, is to seriously enlarge this pattern. 400% oughta be just about right.

And the winner is...

Becca! email me with your address and I'll drop 'em in the mail tomorrow.

I ended up working (sort of) this morning. I say sort of because a) I was subbing for the librarian and I'd have been there volunteering this morning anyway, and b) Tuesday morning is library time for only one class, and they had an assembly for all but the last 10 minutes of their class.

Since the recipient of the Card Basket quilt works at the school but was on a field trip this morning, and since I didn't have students for most of the morning, I brought the quilt with me and I got the label and hanging sleeve attached and the whole project done and handed off. I spent this afternoon on the curtains (from hell.) I need to attach the hanging hardware to 3 more panels, and those will be done too. And tomorrow, I think I'll flake on the couch. (you know, after laundry and vacuuming and dusting and mopping.)

Gotta Get it Done

I'm instituting another Sew Every Day month - there's just that much to do. With the donation of quilts to a couple of fundraisers word has got out that I know how to thread a needle. "Could you...?" "Do you think...?" "I have this..."

First up is a small quilt (9 blocks) for a retiring ex-Navy officer teacher. "Could it be done by Memorial Day? Of course we'll pay you whatever you want, you do such beautiful work!" (Geeze! Take that last bit off and I might have been able to say no.)

This is not the actual quilt - I made exactly ONE block yesterday (copy and paste is an EXCELLENT tool,) but they're relatively quick, and the look is exactly what I'm after.
•Due May 22.

Number two. "My sister brought me this fabric and asked if I could make new curtains for her boat. I don't even know where the foot thingy is for my sewing machine!! I'll pay you whatever you want, you do such beautiful work!" I sense there's a cheat sheet going around with Just the right thing to say. Straight sewing, no hardware. Sure, I'll add it to my list.
•Due May 22

Number three. "So I bought this skirt at a yard sale, and I LOVE it! It's totally homemade and really simple I think and I'd love to have 3 or 4 more just like it for work." (She's the front of house manager at my favourite coffee place, and waits tables at the local wonderful french restaurant in the evening.) "I'll buy whatever you need, I'll pay you whatever you want, you do such beautiful work! And I could probably throw in a free dessert or a latte, you know, whenever you want." Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! We have a winner! (Obviously Sophia paid extra for her cheat sheet.)
•Due when I get to it.

Will a half hour a day get done what needs doing? Dunno, but it's a half hour more a day than I'd be doing otherwise, I bet.

Hey, Bill Murray, it's time to wake up!

Has Phil, or Willie, or any other should-still-be-sleeping rodent seen his shadow? It's hard to tell if winter's almost over, it's still dark here. Either way, spring is at the very least six more weeks away. But it's been that long since Christmas, and that was just yesterday, right? 'sall good.

Around here we'll be keeping with tradition and enjoying "meatloaf" for dinner. And true to that tradition, Tori will have something else.

Here's a pic, BTW of one of the hobbit aprons. Nothing spectacularly spectacular about them, except for the fact that they exist at all - on time. Daniel's costume is assembled and in a bag with his name on it at school. All I have to do is keep my head down for the next two weeks, and I'm home free.